Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. Confirms Surface Fire Near Warrior Mine; Operations Temporarily Idled

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) today confirmed reports of a surface equipment fire near the Warrior mine operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Warrior Coal, LLC ("Warrior”) near the city of Madisonville in Hopkins County, Kentucky. At approximately 4:45 a.m. Central Standard Time this morning, a drilling rig operating at the surface of the Warrior mining complex caught fire as it was drilling a hole from the surface to intersect a worked out area within the Warrior mine.

The fire occurred when the rig's drill was operating at a depth of approximately 420 feet below the surface or approximately 300 feet above the Warrior mine workings. Consequently, the underground workings of the Warrior mine were not affected by the rig fire. The two workers operating the rig were transported to a local hospital for treatment; one has been released and the other remains under observation.

The drilling activity was being conducted, pursuant to a plan approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA") and Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing ("OMSL"), as part of Warrior's efforts to address adverse conditions caused by a roof convergence, commonly referred to as a "squeeze." Warrior evacuated the mine Wednesday evening, January 12, after the roof convergence disrupted ventilation in the area of the squeeze.

Warrior, in cooperation with MSHA and OMSL, is developing a plan for constructing seals to isolate the area of the mine affected by the squeeze. Once final approval has been obtained, Warrior will begin implementation of this plan. Although operations at Warrior will remain idled until it is safe to resume production, mine personnel do not presently anticipate mine production to be idled for an extended period. ARLP does not currently anticipate that these events will have a material adverse impact on the Partnership’s results.

The Warrior mine employs approximately 381 workers producing high-sulfur coal from the West Kentucky No. 11 coal seam utilizing continuous mining units and room-and-pillar techniques. The Warrior mine produced approximately 6.3 million tons in 2009 and 4.5 million tons through the first nine months of 2010.

About Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.

ARLP is a diversified producer and marketer of coal to major United States utilities and industrial users. ARLP, the nation's first publicly traded master limited partnership involved in the production and marketing of coal, is currently the fifth largest coal producer in the eastern United States with mining operations in the Illinois Basin, Northern Appalachian and Central Appalachian coal producing regions. ARLP operates nine mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia and is also constructing a new mining complex in West Virginia. In addition, ARLP operates a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mount Vernon, Indiana.

News, unit prices and additional information about ARLP, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are available at http://www.arlp.com. For more information, contact the investor relations department of ARLP at (918) 295-7674 or via e-mail at investorrelations@arlp.com.

The statements and projections used throughout this release are based on current expectations. These statements and projections are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. These projections do not include the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations that may occur after the date of this release. At the end of this release, we have included more information regarding business risks that could affect our results.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: With the exception of historical matters, any matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, the following: increased competition in coal markets and our ability to respond to the competition; decreases in coal prices, which could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows; risks associated with the expansion of our operations and properties; deregulation of the electric utility industry or the effects of any adverse change in the coal industry, electric utility industry, or general economic conditions; dependence on significant customer contracts, including renewing customer contracts upon expiration of existing contracts; weakness in global economic conditions or in industries in which our customers operate; liquidity constraints, including those resulting from the cost or unavailability of financing due to current capital market conditions; customer bankruptcies, cancellations or breaches to existing contracts, or other failures to perform; customer delays, failure to take coal under contracts or defaults in making payments; adjustments made in price, volume or terms to existing coal supply agreements; fluctuations in coal demand, prices and availability due to labor and transportation costs and disruptions, equipment availability, governmental regulations, including those related to carbon dioxide emissions, and other factors; legislation, regulatory and court decisions and interpretations thereof, including issues related to climate change and miner health and safety; our productivity levels and margins that we earn on our coal sales; greater than expected increases in raw material costs; greater than expected shortage of skilled labor; our ability to maintain satisfactory relations with our employees; any unanticipated increases in labor costs, adverse changes in work rules, or unexpected cash payments associated with post-mine reclamation and workers' compensation claims; any unanticipated increases in transportation costs and risk of transportation delays or interruptions; greater than expected environmental regulation, costs and liabilities; a variety of operational, geologic, permitting, labor and weather-related factors; risks associated with major mine-related accidents, such as mine fires, or interruptions; results of litigation, including claims not yet asserted; difficulty maintaining our surety bonds for mine reclamation as well as workers' compensation and black lung benefits; difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding pension and other post-retirement benefit liabilities; coal market's share of electricity generation, including as a result of environmental concerns related to coal mining and combustion and the cost and perceived benefits of alternative sources of energy, such as natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable fuels; replacement of coal reserves; a loss or reduction of benefits from certain tax credits; difficulty obtaining commercial property insurance, and risks associated with our participation (excluding any applicable deductible) in the commercial insurance property program.

Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in ARLP’s public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including ARLP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, filed on February 26, 2010 with the SEC. Except as required by applicable securities laws, ARLP does not intend to update its forward-looking statements.